Interactive schematic for use in analog, mixed-signal, and custom digital circuit design

ABSTRACT

For application to analog, mixed-signal, and custom digital circuits, a system and method to improve the flow of setting up a set of simulations, a characterization, or optimization problem via an interactive circuit schematic. A system and method to visualize circuit simulation data in which at least one of the views is an enhanced, interactive schematic view.

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/807,883 filed Jul. 20, 2006, which isincorporated herein by reference. The applicant acknowledges theparticipation of K. U. Leuven Research and Development in thedevelopment of this invention.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to analog, mixed-signal, andcustom digital circuit design tools. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to interactive and/or annotated schematics forvisualization in analog circuit design and optimization tools.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Software tools are frequently used in the design of analog, mixed-signaland custom digital circuits. In the front-end stage of a design, whereyield is the primary concern, designers must choose device sizes andother parameters such that the maximum possible percentage ofmanufactured chips meets all pre-determined specifications, i.e., suchthat the yield is maximized. In order to effectively design suchcircuits, designers often need some insight into the design, the insightnot necessarily being apparent from the circuit schematic alone.Designers tend to gain insight into the circuit design by viewingrepresentations of the circuit schematic and its underlying topology.Currently, there are schematic editors/viewers for viewing circuitschematics as well as tools for visualization of analog circuitoptimization and characterization data; however, these tools do notreadily interoperate and the designer has to switch back and forth fromone to the other in order to set up a characterization or optimizationrun, or gather insight in different ways such as, for example, byvisualizing transient simulation waveforms or the results of a parametersweep.

Visualization tools for electrical circuits can be thought of as beingin a technological field of their own because of the value that goodvisualization of data can provide in terms of verifying assumptions orhypotheses, aiding intuition, uncovering new knowledge and providing newperspectives leading to fresh thinking. For circuit design, goodvisualization tools can translate to more efficient designers, higheryield, better performing designs and faster time-to-market. For complexcircuits having highly multidimensional datasets, such visualizationtools are often indispensable. Another feature of good visualizationtools is domain-specific visualization allowing users to get the mostfrom available raw data. In terms of visualizing data in the analog andmixed-signal design domain, existing state of the art visualizations arestandard textbook visualizations, such as, for example, two-dimensional(2D) and three-dimensional (3D) scatter plots, bar charts and histogramswith variables including design variables, random variables,environmental variables, performance metrics and, sometimes, variablesthat aggregate, for example, performance metrics such as “worst case”performance metrics, partial yields, and overall yields. There is also“waveform viewing” that displays one or more signals as a function oftime. However, as explained below, even though visualization tools havegreatly improved over the years, there is still there is still a need toprovide new ways for designers to explore data, especially newdomain-specific ways.

Current circuit design visualization tools are not geared towardscircuit design optimization and/or characterization. Even thoughdesigners usually think in terms of circuit schematics, existingoptimizer and characterizer setup tools tend to be oriented towardstextually dense tables requiring repetitive and lengthy data input, nottowards circuit schematics per se. Further, current schematic editorsare not made for setting and storing optimization variables, andcharacterization variables. For example, when a designer sets up, in anoptimizer, minimum (min) and maximum (max) ranges for each designvariable, the optimizer provides a table to fill in, with one row pervariable. To properly set the min and max values, the designer mustswitch to a separate view of the schematic, and locate the element inquestion (typically, this is accomplished by manually scanning theschematic for the element name). The iterative process involved is: (a)obtain the name of the device related to variable, (b) scan theschematic to find the device with that name, (c) determine theappropriate min and max values while looking at schematic, and (d)return to the table and enter the min and max values. Needless to saythat such processes are very time-consuming. Thus, there is clearly aneed for a visualization tool that would allow various possible visualrepresentations of fundamentally inter-related particulars of a circuitdesign in order to expedite processes such as, for example, optimizationand/or characterization runs of circuit designs.

Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the time taken in setting up anoptimization or characterization problem by breaking the iterativeprocess of jumping back and forth between the schematic and the dataentry table. It is also desirable to provide methods for displayingmultidimensional circuit data, which is typically the result of anoptimization or characterization run, such that designers gain moreinsight, and/or insight more quickly, with respect to a given circuitdesign.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at leastone disadvantage of previous visualization tools used in analog,mixed-signal or custom digital circuit design and/or optimization.

In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method ofinteractive circuit design visualization. The method comprises a step ofintegrating a schematic of an electrical circuit and design particularsof the electrical circuit, the electrical circuit including componentsand being associated with variables, the design particulars including atleast one of (1) operating ranges of the components, (2) performancedata of the components, (3) performance data of the electrical circuitdesign, (4) yield data of the electrical circuit design, (5) data entryfields for the components, and (6) simulation data associated with theelectrical circuit design. Further, the method comprises a step ofdisplaying the schematic with the components in a circuit schematic viewand the design particulars in a design particulars view. Additionally,the method comprises a step of, in response to selection by a user of acomponent in the circuit schematic view, interactively highlighting acorresponding design particular in the design particulars view.

The step of displaying the schematic in the circuit schematic view caninclude displaying an indication of an impact of at least one componenton at least one of a yield of the design of the electrical circuit and aperformance of the design of the electrical circuit. Further, the stepof displaying the schematic can include displaying the indication of theimpact through graphic marking of the at least one component of theelectrical circuit. Further yet, the step of displaying the indicationof the impact of the at least one component can include applying a colorscheme with different colors corresponding to pre-determined values ofthe impact. Additionally, at least one graphically-marked component caninclude a hierarchy function selectable by a user to display informationon sub-components of the at least one graphically-marked component.

Alternatively, the step of displaying the schematic in the circuitschematic view can includes displaying an indication of an impact of atleast one variable on at least one of a yield of the design of theelectrical circuit and a performance of the design of the electricalcircuit.

Alternatively, the step of displaying the schematic in the circuitschematic view can includes displaying an indication of a sensitivity ofat least one component on at least one of a yield of the design of theelectrical circuit and a performance of the design of the electricalcircuit. Further, the step of displaying the schematic can includedisplaying the indication of the impact through graphic marking of theat least one component of the electrical circuit. Further yet,displaying the indication of the sensitivity of the at least onecomponent can include applying a color scheme with different colorscorresponding to pre-determined values of the sensitivity. Additionally,at least one graphically-marked component can include a hierarchyfunction selectable by a user to display information on sub-componentsof the at least one graphically-marked component.

Alternatively, the step of displaying the schematic in the circuitschematic view can include displaying an indication of a sensitivity ofat least one variable on at least one of a yield of the design of theelectrical circuit and a performance of the design of the electricalcircuit.

Alternatively, the design particulars view includes at least one itemwith statistical data relating at least one component of the electricalcircuit to the yield of the design of the electrical circuit. Further,the statistical data can include at least one of a histogram, a scatterplot and a yield curve.

Alternatively, the circuit schematic view can includes a view of theschematic of the electrical circuit with at least one component of theelectrical circuit, the at least one component being graphically-markedand associated with at least one of an optimization function and acharacterization function, the step of interactively highlighting acorresponding design particular in the design particulars view includinga step of performing at least one of an optimization and acharacterization of the graphically-marked component.

Alternatively, the method of the first aspect can comprise a step of, inresponse to selection by a user of a design particular in the designparticulars view, interactively highlighting at least one correspondingcomponent in the circuit schematic view.

In a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an interactiveelectrical circuit design visualization system, the electrical circuitdesign having components and being associated with variables. Thevisualization system comprises a circuit schematic module including aschematic of the electrical circuit design. The visualization systemalso comprises a circuit particulars module including design particularsof the electrical circuit design, the design particulars including atleast one of (1) operating ranges of the components, (2) performancedata of the components, (3) performance data of the electrical circuitdesign, (4) yield data of the electrical circuit design, (5) data entryfields for the components, and (6) simulation data associated with theelectrical circuit design. Further, the visualization system comprisesan integration module operatively connected to the circuit schematicmodule and to the circuit particulars module, the integration module forintegrating the schematic of the electrical circuit design with thedesign particulars to form enhanced schematic data. Further yet, thevisualization system comprises a display system operatively connected tothe integration module to display the enhanced schematic data as acircuit schematic view and design particulars view. Additionally, thevisualization system comprises a user input module for selecting acomponent in the circuit schematic view to highlight interactively atleast one corresponding design particular in the design particularsview. The user input module can further be for selecting a designparticular in the design particulars view to highlight interactively atleast one corresponding component in the schematic view.

According to various embodiments, the present invention provides avisualization system that can display simultaneously, and interactively,a circuit schematic view and a related design particulars view, theparticulars including, for example, statistical information relating tothe circuit, characterization variables and optimization variables. Asused herein, an “interactive schematic” is a schematic whose displayreflects interactions and/or relationships between components of a givenelectrical circuit and/or information contained in the visualizationsystem. The interactive schematic may include graphic markingsrepresenting circuit information not usually found on a schematicdiagram, such information including, for example, the impact (orrelative impact) per device on yield. The tool may haveuser-controllable graphic user interface (GUI) elements that alter theinformation displayed and/or circuit information in an underlyingdatabase, such information including, for example, circuit simulationdata.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a visualization system according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 a shows a displayed view according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 b shows the bar chart view of FIG. 2 a;

FIG. 2 c shows the schematic view of FIG. 2 a;

FIG. 3 a shows a building block editor view used to define buildingblocks according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 b shows a schematic view related to the building block editorview of FIG. 3 a;

FIG. 4 a shows a building block editor view used to select componentsaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 b shows a schematic view related to the building block editorview of FIG. 4 a;

FIG. 5 a shows two-dimensional scatter plots of performance metricsaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 b shows a schematic view related to the scatter plots of FIG. 5a;

FIGS. 6-8 are hierarchical interactive schematics according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally, the present invention is directed to a method and system forproviding interactive circuit design visualization. According toembodiments of the invention, an interactive electrical circuit designvisualization system displays a circuit schematic view and a designparticulars view, which includes information on the particulars of theelectrical circuit design in question. The system allows for theselection of an item in one of view to highlight a corresponding item inthe other view. This interactive visualization system allows a designerto function much more efficiently than with prior art systems wherecircuit schematic views and design particulars views were independent.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a visualization system 20 of thepresent invention. A circuit particulars module 22 contains particularsof a given electrical circuit design, the particulars including, forexample, (1) operating ranges of components of the electrical circuitdesign, (2) performance data of the components, (3) performance data ofthe electrical circuit design, (4) yield data of the electrical circuitdesign, (5) data entry fields for the components, and (6) simulationdata associated with the electrical circuit design. The circuitparticulars module 22 can be in communications with an optimization andcharacterization (OC) module 23, through any suitable means, to performoptimization and/or characterization operations on the particulars ofthe given electrical circuit design. One such optimization can be, forexample, an optimization of manufacturing yield of the electricalcircuit in question. The circuit particulars module 22 can also be incommunication with a database system 24 to extract circuit particularsassociated with the given circuit design. The circuit particulars module22 can also be used to populate the database system 24 with electricalcircuit design data of the circuit design in question. Populating thedatabase system 24 can be done, for example, following an optimizationand/or characterization run, by the OC module 23. As will be understoodby a worker having ordinary skilled in the art, other combinations ofmodules can be made to achieve visualization systems equivalent to thatshown at FIG. 1.

The particulars contained in the database system 24 are typicallyrelated to circuit components and variables of the given electricalcircuit design; however, the particulars can also be related to moreevolved circuit characteristics, for example, aggregated data regardingyield, as will be discussed below. The circuit particulars module 22 isconnected to an integration module 26 to which it provides particularsof the electrical circuit design. A circuit schematic module 28,containing information relating to the schematic of the given electricalcircuit, is connected to the integration module 26 to which it providesschematic-related information. The circuit schematic module 28 can alsobe in communication with the database system 24 to extract schematicdata of the electrical circuit design in question. The integrationmodule 26 integrates the circuit particulars provided by the circuitparticulars module 22, with the schematic data provided by the circuitschematic module to form enhanced schematic data 30 for display by thedisplay system 32 as a circuit schematic view and a design particularsview as will be discussed further below. The circuit schematic module 26can also be used to populate the database system 24 with schematic dataof the circuit design in question.

The visualization system 20 further includes a user input module 34connected to the integration module 26 in order to select one or moreitems displayed by the display system 32. The user input module 34 canalso be connected to the circuit particulars module 22 and to thecircuit schematic module 28 to input data to the circuit particularsmodule 22 and to the circuit schematic module 28 respectively. The userinput module 34 can include, for example, a pointing device, a keyboard,a tactile display or any other suitable type of user input device.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the visualization system 20enables a designer to see more than one view of the circuit data atonce. In such an embodiment, the display shows a circuit schematic viewand a design particulars view. The visualization system 20 exploits theunderlying database system 24 of FIG. 1, that contains information aboutthe schematic, and other information related to the particulars of thecircuit design, such as, for example, identification of the circuitelements (components), the circuit specifications, the relationshipsbetween circuit elements and specifications, and the variablesassociated with each element. This information can be synthesized oranalyzed, and viewed in many formats, such as, for example, bar charts,scatter plots, yield curves, etc. Information can be viewed according tosingle circuit elements, to groups of circuit elements or to the overallcircuit. The visualization system 20 can display this datasimultaneously with (a) the circuit design schematic, possibly annotatedor otherwise marked-up with information from the database, and (b) atleast one other view showing information related to the schematic.

FIG. 2 a shows an exemplary view 36 with a schematic view 38 on theright, and a bar chart 40 on the left. Even though the schematic view 38and the bar chart 40 are shown side by side, they can be shown in anyother suitable manner. The schematic view 38 is shown in detail at FIG.2 c and the bar chart 40 is shown in detail at FIG. 2 b. Individualtransistors of a given circuit design are represented in the schematicview 38. As determined through simulations and/or statistical analysisperformed by the OC module 23, the impact on manufacturing yield of eachtransistor can be represented in the schematic view 38 by highlightingthe transistors having the greatest impact on yield in a bright colorand the other transistors in successive paler shades of the same coloror, as will be understood by a worker having ordinary skill in the art,by any other suitable graphical scheme using, for example, colors,highlighting, cross-hatching etc. The bar chart 40 gives precise valuesand a visual representation of the impact on yield for each individualelement. The transistors 50-1, 50-2, 51-1, 51-2, 52-1, 52-2, 53-1 and53-2 shown in the schematic view 38 have their respective impact onyield represented with corresponding reference numerals in the bar chart40 of FIG. 2 b. There is a variety of information that can be reportedsimilarly, including, for example: (a) yield (shown), or a performancemeasures such as, e.g., power consumption, gain, or slew rate; (b)nonlinear impact across a region (shown), or sensitivity/gradient abouta point; (c) effects due to mismatch/random variation (shown),design/optimization variables, environmental variables such astemperature or load conditions, or proximity variables such as wellspacing; (d) plot type such as bar chart (shown), 2d scatter plot wherethe y axis is impact and x axis is variable name, etc.

Thus, interactive schematics according to the present invention can beused for studying the performance of a given circuit, such as byexploring optimization and/or characterization results of the circuit inquestion. A schematic view of the circuit, for example, the schematicview 38, can be used to gain insight into the circuit. To do this, theschematic view 38 can be made to interact with circuit particulars inmany ways. For example, (a) when the circuit particulars include circuitsimulation data obtained through, for example, a simulation softwaresuch as SPICE, which can run in the OC module 23, the circuit simulationdata can be represented directly on the schematic view 38 throughannotation or any other suitable graphical marking of the schematic view38, as seen at FIG. 2 c; (b) the view 36 can also be used as a means toselect data, seen in another view shown by the display system 32,through the user input module 34; (c) data shown or listed in one view,for example the bar chart 40, can be used to select items on theschematic view 38, again through the user input module 34 (for example,upon the user selecting a device, say transistor 50-1 in the schematicview 38, the corresponding bar of the bar chart 40 becomes highlightedor otherwise graphically differentiated from the other bars of the barchart 40—this is sometimes termed as an interactive cross-referencingcapability); and (d) data shown on the schematic view 30 or bar chart 40can be used to select what is shown on a subsequent schematic view,i.e., there can be interactive exploration directly on the schematic.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b, which can be displayed simultaneously to the usersuch as at FIG. 2 a, show another type of interactive cross-referencingcapability where electrical building blocks can be created by the userinteracting with the schematic to select a group of components. Here,the transistors shown at reference numerals 60, 62, 64 and 66 areselected by the user who then brings up a context menu to select thetype of building block to be associated with these transistors. The usercan select an element on the schematic of FIG. 3 b, for exampletransistor 66, right-click and choose “setup device” to bring up a smalltable or box (e.g., 100 and 101) containing just the variables for thatdevice. If it is a design variable, the table can include: min value,max value and an enable option for the design variable. In anotherexample, the designer can click on a variable name in the table view, tochange the min/max values. The corresponding device in the schematic isthen automatically highlighted and becomes visible to the designer. Thiscan also work in reverse: the designer can click on an element, and oneor more of the variables in the main table view can become highlighted,or only those variables applicable to the selected element are shown.

As an example of building block setup, a user can select a group ofdevices on the schematic, and then select a building block name or typefrom a displayed candidate set of building block names that is mostappropriate to the building block. The system can then tag those devicesas a building block with its own constraints. FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show howselecting a component in the building blocks editor of FIG. 3 ahighlights the corresponding component in the schematic view of FIG. 3 b(shown using rectangles). This serves as a visual confirmation to thedesigner that the correct building block is selected and reduces thetime required to complete building block setup. Further, building blockscan be created by interacting with the schematic by selecting a group ofcomponents and then bringing up a context menu to select the type ofbuilding block. Instead of choosing a given building block name, theuser can select “define new building block” and then enter the name forthat building block, and also, possibly, new constraints for thatbuilding block. Using the present visualization tool for optimizationand/or characterization problem setup eliminates the iterative processof transiting between the table and the schematic.

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b, which can also be displayed simultaneously to theuser such as in FIG. 2 a, show another type of interactivecross-referencing capability. The selection by a user of a buildingblock, or of components of a building block, in FIG. 4 a interactivelyrepresents the selected items in the electrical circuit design of FIG. 4b. Conversely, the selection of transistors in FIG. 4 b can result in aninteractive representation of the transistors in FIG. 4 a. Transistors60, 62, 64 and 66 are represented in FIGS. 4 a and 4 b. For sake ofclarity, other components listed at FIG. 4 a are not identified in FIG.4 b.

The visualization system 20 can also be used to view the results of theoptimization and/or characterization. As shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b,which can also be displayed simultaneously to the user as in FIG. 2 a,two-dimensional scatter plot views of different design variables andperformance metrics are displayed in context of the schematic view atFIG. 5 a. The user can select the design variables to display orhighlight by interacting with the schematic of FIG. 5 b. The interactiveschematic can also be used to review component information, or viewstatistical information related to an element or a building block, suchas, for example, by passing a pointing device cursor over the element(for example, element 300 in FIG. 5 b).

In FIG. 5 a, the pane 302 on the far left with a tree view of variablesallows the user to select which variables to display, by clicking on thecheck box corresponding to the variable. These variables might beperformance metrics, random variables, or other variables. In the middleis a grid 304 of small 2d scatter plots, where each scatter plot is ofone of the chosen variables, versus another. Each point on the scatterplot corresponds to a specific simulation result. The large 2d scatterplot 306 on the right is a zoomed-in version of one of the small 2dscatter plots. The particular large scatter plot on the right can changebased on the user's selection; the user can select which small 2d plotto zoom by merely clicking on the small 2d plot. In the large (andsmall) plots, the “x” points mean that the simulation is infeasible,i.e., that it did not meet the target performance specifications;whereas the “o” points are feasible. The square region with the lightlydotted background (e.g., green on a computer screen), which takes up asubset of the overall plot's background, indicates the region offeasibility for the two variables selected. Note that all points outsidethis region are “x” points because they are not feasible; and within theregion some are “x”s because they are not feasible elsewhere, whereasothers are “o”s because they are always feasible. Other examples ofschematic interactivity with these plots include: the user selects adevice on the schematic, and it will highlight the variables in thevariable tree on the left (typically design variables or randomvariables); and vice versa; if the user clicks on a particular small 2dscatter plot that has 1 or 2 variables related to the schematic, thenthe devices related to those 1 or 2 variables will be highlighted.

Thus, interactive schematics according to the present invention can beused in systems where the relative impact of each device onmanufacturing yield (aggregated data) is computed through, for example,circuit simulation software (or obtained by testing batches ofcorresponding manufactured circuits). The relative impact of each deviceon the yield can be displayed visually on the interactive schematic,such as by, for example, drawing the highest impact devices boldly, andlesser impact devices successively less boldly. In a different view,shown simultaneously with the schematic, a bar chart of the relativeimpact of each device on the manufacturing yield can also be shown, asdescribed below. A view, other than the schematic view, can be used todisplay any value or characterization of interest. For example, barcharts showing the impact on the yield as a function of design variable,rather than by device, can be displayed. Further, the display system 32can show the particular variables that are determined to have anassociation with a device or with a building block of the device. Thisis a great advantage over existing visualization tools where suchinformation would be available only in table or spreadsheet form.

Just as many traditional schematic editors support hierarchy, aninteractive schematic according to the present invention can behierarchical in nature, such as shown at FIGS. 6-8. This hierarchicalviewing capability allows the designer to dive deeper into thehierarchy, or go higher up, in a fashion similar to that of existingschematic editors. However, unlike conventional schematic editors, theinteractive schematic of the present invention can display, for example,in an adjoining pane view, circuit data, such as statistical simulationdata, and, in the examples of FIGS. 6-8, data related to the impact ofdevices on yield in a context appropriate to the level in the designhierarchy. Such additional data could be shown in the adjoining paneview as a bar chart similar to the bar chart of FIG. 2 b. FIG. 6 shows ahigh-level circuit 70 with components 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82 and 83having a decreasing impact on the yield; the relative impact of each ofthese devices can be represented by, for example, a pre-determined colorscheme or through any other suitable visual representation approach.FIG. 7 shows a close up view of the component 72 where it is shown withcomponent 73. FIG. 8 shows a close up view of component 72, whichincludes components 200 and 201. Each of FIGS. 7 and 8 can also show therelative impact of the shown components through any suitable visualrepresentation.

As stated previously, according to embodiments of the invention, thegraphic alteration, or visual representation, applied to the circuitschematic can be statistical in nature. The annotations can be derivedfrom simulations or statistical analysis performed by the OC module 23.Further, the circuit schematic can be embedded with one or moreuser-selectable characterization function of the OC module 23, where acharacterization function computes the impact, per circuit variable, onyield or on performance parameters. Alternatively, the schematic can beembedded with one or more optimization function of the OC module 23,where an optimization function is to suggest new design points toimprove performance and/or yield of the circuit design in question. Asdiscussed above in relation to the figures, the relative impact of adevice or component on yield or performance, compared to other devices,can be shown in any number of ways. The end result is a visualizationsystem 20 that provides better and more direct information to circuitdesigners, and that allows them to quickly see the impact of designdecisions on a final design.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, thevisualization system 20 can provide an interactive schematic fordefining or viewing circuit element information, such as the variablesfor setting up a circuit optimization and/or characterization problem.The visualization system 20 can provide a tightly coupled schematic forviewing the setup of optimization or characterization problems.Generally, the underlying database system 24, holds information of (a)schematics, including which variables are associates to given devices,and (b) information for each variable needed for the optimization and/orcharacterization problem setup. The schematic can be viewed as a datastructure to embed spatial information into the rest of the data, aswell as graphical information. To set up the optimization and/orcharacterization problem, there is at least one “view” of the databaseavailable to the user—the schematic view. Of course there may be othercomplementary views available too, such as, for example, a table view.These views can be shown simultaneously, such as on a split screen, orcan be displayed in separate windows, tables, etc.

An exemplary method of interactive circuit design automation that can beused with the visualization system 20 is shown at FIG. 9. At step 90,for a given electrical circuit design, the schematic and the designparticulars of the circuit design in question are integrated to forenhanced schematic data, which is displayed, at step 92, as a circuitschematic view and a design particulars view. At step 94, the selectionof an item in one of the circuit schematic view and the designparticulars view results in the interactive representation of the itemin the other respective view.

In the above description, for purposes of explanation, numerous detailshave been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of thepresent invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in theart that these specific details are not required in order to practicethe present invention. In other instances, well-known electricalstructures and circuits are shown in block diagram form in order not toobscure the present invention. For example, specific details are notprovided as to whether the embodiments of the invention described hereinare implemented as a software routine, hardware circuit, firmware, or acombination thereof.

Embodiments of the invention may be represented as a software productstored in a machine-readable medium (also referred to as acomputer-readable medium, a processor-readable medium, or a computerusable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein).The machine-readable medium may be any suitable tangible medium,including magnetic, optical, or electrical storage medium including adiskette, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), memory device(volatile or non-volatile), or similar storage mechanism. Themachine-readable medium may contain various sets of instructions, codesequences, configuration information, or other data, which, whenexecuted, cause a processor to perform steps in a method according to anembodiment of the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that other instructions and operations necessary to implementthe described invention may also be stored on the machine-readablemedium. Software running from the machine-readable medium may interfacewith circuitry to perform the described tasks.

Therefore, the invention described above is directed to a method andsystem for providing interactive circuit design visualization. Accordingto embodiments of the invention, an interactive electrical circuitdesign visualization system displays a circuit schematic view and adesign particulars view, which includes information on the particularsof the electrical circuit design in question. The system allows for theselection of an item in one of view to highlight a corresponding item inthe other view. This interactive visualization system allows a designerto function much more efficiently than with prior art systems wherecircuit schematic views and design particulars views were independent.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended tobe examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may beeffected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention, which is definedsolely by the claims appended hereto.

1. A method of interactive circuit design visualization, comprising:integrating a schematic of an electrical circuit and design particularsof the electrical circuit, the electrical circuit including componentsand being associated with variables, the design particulars including atleast one of (1) operating ranges of the components, (2) performancedata of the components, (3) performance data of the electrical circuitdesign, (4) yield data of the electrical circuit design, (5) data entryfields for the components, and (6) simulation data associated with theelectrical circuit design; displaying the schematic with the componentsin a circuit schematic view and the design particulars in a designparticulars view; and, in response to selection by a user of a componentin the circuit schematic view, interactively highlighting acorresponding design particular in the design particulars view.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein, displaying the schematic in the circuitschematic view includes displaying an indication of an impact of atleast one component on at least one of a yield of the design of theelectrical circuit and a performance of the design of the electricalcircuit.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein, displaying the schematic inthe circuit schematic view includes displaying an indication of animpact of at least one variable on at least one of a yield of the designof the electrical circuit and a performance of the design of theelectrical circuit.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein, displaying theschematic in the circuit schematic view includes displaying anindication of a sensitivity of at least one component on at least one ofa yield of the design of the electrical circuit and a performance of thedesign of the electrical circuit.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein,displaying the schematic in the circuit schematic view includesdisplaying an indication of a sensitivity of at least one variable on atleast one of a yield of the design of the electrical circuit and aperformance of the design of the electrical circuit.
 6. The method ofclaim 2 wherein, displaying the schematic includes displaying theindication of the impact through graphic marking of the at least onecomponent of the electrical circuit.
 7. The method of claim 4 wherein,displaying the schematic includes displaying the indication of thesensitivity through graphic marking of the at least one component of theelectrical circuit.
 8. The method of claim 6 wherein, displaying theindication of the impact of the at least one component includes applyinga color scheme with different colors corresponding to pre-determinedvalues of the impact.
 9. The method of claim 7 wherein, displaying theindication of the sensitivity of the at least one component includesapplying a color scheme with different colors corresponding topre-determined values of the sensitivity.
 10. The method of claim 8wherein, at least one graphically-marked component includes a hierarchyfunction selectable by a user to display information on sub-componentsof the at least one graphically-marked component.
 11. The method ofclaim 9 wherein, at least one graphically-marked component includes ahierarchy function selectable by a user to display information onsub-components of the at least one graphically-marked component.
 12. Themethod of claim 1 wherein, the design particulars view includes at leastone item with statistical data relating at least one component of theelectrical circuit to the yield of the design of the electrical circuit.13. The method of claim 12 wherein, the statistical data includes atleast one of a histogram, a scatter plot and a yield curve.
 14. Themethod of claim 1 wherein, the circuit schematic view includes a view ofthe schematic of the electrical circuit with at least one component ofthe electrical circuit, the at least one component beinggraphically-marked and associated with at least one of an optimizationfunction and a characterization function, the step of interactivelyhighlighting a corresponding design particular in the design particularsview including a step of performing at least one of an optimization anda characterization of the graphically-marked component.
 15. The methodof claim 1 further comprising a step of, in response to selection by auser of a design particular in the design particulars view,interactively highlighting at least one corresponding component in thecircuit schematic view.
 16. An interactive electrical circuit designvisualization system, the electrical circuit design having componentsand being associated with variables, the visualization systemcomprising: a circuit schematic module including a schematic of theelectrical circuit design; a circuit particulars module including designparticulars of the electrical circuit design, the design particularsincluding at least one of (1) operating ranges of the components, (2)performance data of the components, (3) performance data of theelectrical circuit design, (4) yield data of the electrical circuitdesign, (5) data entry fields for the components, and (6) simulationdata associated with the electrical circuit design; an integrationmodule operatively connected to the circuit schematic module and to thecircuit particulars module, the integration module for integrating theschematic of the electrical circuit design with the design particularsto form enhanced schematic data; a display system operatively connectedto the integration module to display the enhanced schematic data as acircuit schematic view and design particulars view; and a user inputmodule for selecting a component in the circuit schematic view tohighlight interactively at least one corresponding design particular inthe design particulars view.
 17. The system of claim 16 wherein, theuser input module is further for selecting a design particular in thedesign particulars view to highlight interactively at least onecorresponding component in the schematic view.